Incubator Fund FAQs

We ask for accounts as part of the application process for two reasons. First, so that we can get an idea of your financial position. And second, to check that you are managing your finances. If you don’t yet have formal accounts then we’ll accept a spreadsheet that tracks your income and expenditure to date, or your latest management accounts.

The access fund supports Disabled people to cover the additional costs they may incur in making an application to Youth Music - more information, including how to apply, here.

Whether or not you identify as Disabled, you can also include access costs for 18-25s within your budget. These are things that they might need to be able to participate in your programme, such as childcare costs, travel and accommodation or other living costs.

Yes. But we’ll want to see that you have a genuine desire to incubate 18-25s and diversify the music industries, and aren’t just chasing the cash.

It is unlikely that you would be awarded both, but that would depend on the nature of the work you want to do. You can’t apply to both Fund A and the Incubator Fund for the same piece of work. Take a look at the guidance notes and see which one is a better fit. The success rate for Fund A is around 40%, and 25% for The Incubator Fund. 

You can put some of the budget towards capital items in the ‘organisational and delivery costs’ section of your budget. But this fund is designed primarily to fund people and activities.

This is not a wage replacement programme and if you’re already paying interns properly through your own revenue streams that’s great - please carry on doing this! However, you can apply to Youth Music to enhance your existing programme - for example by increasing the professional development aspect, or including access costs for interns to make it more inclusive and diverse.

We recommend that you plan your programme around some form of social distancing measures being in place for the next 12 months and with the potential of future lockdowns. There is a specific application question that asks how you have planned your activity around potential disruption caused by COVID-19.

In terms of how it affects your business, we recommend that you are realistic in your financial budgets and consider the opportunities this fund can bring in terms of trialling new ways and products.

Yes, unless we specifically tell you otherwise. Please refer to your rejection email and contact the relevant member of the Youth Music team for feedback.

No. But in some instances we would expect you to have one. For example if you are a charity, or if you are working with under 18s or vulnerable adults.

We’d encourage you to work with 18-25s on your application, so it’s informed by their needs, but you shouldn’t recruit anyone before you submit your application. It is fine for you to know who you want to target with the opportunities you are creating, but we require all opportunities to be advertised openly to encourage a fair recruitment process. We know a big barrier to entering the industry can be that jobs are not advertised openly and too often things are based on a “who you know” culture.

As long as you meet our eligibility criteria you can apply for funding whether you are over 25 or under. The opportunities you create must be filled by someone aged 25 or under.

This fund is designed to provide positive action to support 18-25s to gain and sustain employment in the music industries, in recognition of the additional barriers they face and in line with Youth Music’s charitable objectives. This is particularly important at this moment in time as 18-25s are likely to be amongst those most negatively affected by forthcoming economic challenges. The government has responded to this issue with its own ‘Kickstarter Scheme’ also aimed at supporting youth employment.

Yes you would be eligible to apply.  If you are a voluntary organisation run by a management committee and not registered with the Charity Commission or Companies House, then we require a signed copy of your constitution to be uploaded with your application. 

Yes, we’re happy for organisations to plan in time for set up, and to allocate some budget to things they may need to do to prepare for their project.

It really depends on the nature of the opportunity you are able to offer. We will prioritise applicants that offer genuine and meaningful experience. In some cases a three month opportunity could be more meaningful than a 12 month opportunity, but it completely depends on how you design it.

We will look to fund a diverse range of projects so rather than submitting two separate applications we’d encourage you to think about whether the two organisations could work in partnership and apply once.

Local authorities are technically eligible to apply, but they would need to clearly demonstrate that they’re working with a good range of music industry organisations in their locality.

The Incubator Fund has not been designed to be a wage replacement scheme. We aim to provide a contribution towards the costs of creating work and career development opportunities that are mutually beneficial to employers and 18-25 year olds, so we expect to see an employer contribution too.

The amount of funding available per person has been limited to ensure we can spread our investment and create a wide range of opportunities for 18-25 year olds. Costs were benchmarked against (and exceed) previous similar initiatives such as Arts Council England’s Creative Employment Programme.

From August 2020 employers will be able to access further funding to support job creation through the government’s new ‘Kickstarter Scheme’. This is a £2 billion fund to create 6-month work placements aimed at those aged 16-24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment.

Kickstarter funding available for each job will cover 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. We would encourage applicants to combine Incubator funds and Kickstarter funds where possible.